Decorative serving tray with freezable inserts

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the present invention is a decorative tray for serving chilled produce. The decorative tray comprises (a) a portable housing containing one or more sockets; (b) one or more removable inserts adapted to fit the sockets each having a hollow interior; and (c) a freezable substance disposed within the hollow interior of each removable insert.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to food serving trays which canbe used for serving chilled food products.

NO GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS

No federal government funding was used to develop the present invention.Rather, the present invention was conceived as part of a class projectat the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York City, N.Y.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a decorative trayfor serving chilled produce is provided, comprising: (a) a portablehousing containing one or more sockets; (b) one or more removableinserts adapted to fit the sockets each having a hollow interior; and(c) a freezable substance disposed within the hollow interior of eachremovable insert.

In at least one embodiment, the portable housing may be a bowl.

In at least one embodiment, the portable housing may be a rectangularprism.

In at least one embodiment, the removable insert may be a cylinder.

In at least one embodiment, the removable insert may be a cone.

In at least one embodiment, the removable insert may be a rectangularprism.

In at least one embodiment, the removable insert may be a square prism.

In at least one embodiment, the removable insert may further comprise aflange.

In at least one embodiment, the freezable substance may be a gel.

In at least one embodiment, the freezable substance may be a liquid.

In at least one embodiment, the freezable substance may be a solid.

In at least one embodiment, the portable housing may contain one or moreinsulated handles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and related objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood by reference to the following,detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a serving tray in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention depicting the serving tray without theremovable inserts;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of a serving tray in accordance with theembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 depicting the serving traywith the removable inserts;

FIG. 3 is a cutaway view of an embodiment of the removable insertdepicted in FIG. 2 illustrating the features of the insert;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the serving tray in accordance with theembodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the serving tray in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention depicting the serving tray withoutthe removable inserts.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the serving tray in accordance with theembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5 depicting the serving traywith the removable inserts.

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view of an embodiment of the removable insert inaccordance with the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The following is a description of various embodiments of the presentinvention. Although the intention is not to narrowly limit the presentinvention to the exact specifics described herein but to cover devicesthat lie within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The present invention relates to a decorative serving tray for servingchilled food products such as produce. The serving tray is designed topreserve food for an extended period of time through the use of afreezable substance disposed within one or more removable inserts. Byincorporating a freezable substance into the device, the inventionallows food to be served, and remain chilled, for an extended period oftime, thereby preserving the food longer. The freezable substance isdisposed within an enclosed region of the insert such that it does notcontact the food served. In addition, the decorative housing allows theserving tray to be placed directly on the table rather than requiringthe user to transfer the cooled food to a standard decorative tray. Itcan accomplish these purposes by utilizing a decorative housing and oneor more removable inserts, each containing a freezable substance.

The freezable substance may be, for example, water or any material thatcan absorb high levels of water per gram of absorbent, such assuperabsorbent cross-linked sodium polymer. Other suitable liquids, gelsor solids for the freezable substance will be apparent to those of skillin the art.

The tray can be used by placing the inserts in a freezer for at least anamount of time sufficient to adequately lower the temperature of thefreezable substance. The inserts are removed from the freezer and foodis placed within the removable inserts. Since the freezable substancehas a large heat capacity, the food products remain at a relativelyconstant temperature for an extended period of time.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are heretodescribed by references to the Figures. These embodiments are meant tobe merely illustrative and not limiting of the present invention.

FIG. 1 represents an exemplary embodiment of the present invention inwhich a freezer tray housing (10) has multiple cylindrical sockets (20).In particular, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bowl-shaped freezer trayhousing (10) without the removable cylindrical inserts (30). FIG. 1 isrepresentative of this embodiment when the removable inserts (30), shownin FIGS. 2 and 3, have been removed from the housing (10).

FIG. 2 represents another view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Inparticular, FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of the bowl-shaped housing (10)with the removable inserts (30) in place. As can be seen, the removableinserts (30) in this embodiment are cylindrical and designed to fitsecurely within each cylindrical socket (20) of the housing (10). Whileone or more removable inserts (30) are illustrated in this embodiment,this is merely intended to illustrate how the inserts can be used withthe present invention. It is understood that in applying the presentinvention inserts of various shapes and sizes may be adapted.

FIG. 3 represents another view of the removable insert (30) shown inFIG. 2. In particular, FIG. 3 depicts a cutaway view of the removableinsert (30). As can be seen, the removable insert (30) is formed of ahollow interior (50) which contains the freezable substance. Thefreezable substance may be a liquid, gel, or solid. The inner surface(40) of the removable insert (30) may be shaped to accommodate a rangeof food products, including fruits and vegetables. The inner surface(40) may also be used to hold, for example, dips and/or dressings whichare often served in conjunction with vegetables. In addition, a flange(35) may be placed at the top of the removable insert (30). There is nodirect contact between the hollow interior (50) and the inner surface(40).

FIG. 4 is another view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4depicts a bottom view of the housing (10). The housing (10) may beconstructed from any suitable material, such as plastic, glass orporcelain, or any other aesthetically pleasing material. If theremovable inserts (30) are made of plastic they may be molded and filledwith the freezable substance. The material selected should be safe foruse with food products.

FIG. 5 represents another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.In this particular embodiment the housing (120) is a rectangular prism.As shown, in this embodiment the sockets (130) are rectangular prisms.In addition, handles (140) may be used for carrying the device. Thehandles (140) may be insulated for increased comfort in handling.

FIG. 6 represents a further exemplary embodiment of the embodiment shownin FIG. 5. In particular, FIG. 6 depicts the housing (120) with theremovable inserts (60) in the sockets (130).

FIG. 7 depicts the removable insert (60) shown in FIG. 6. As can beseen, the removable insert (60) in this particular embodiment is arectangular prism. The shape of this insert is particularly useful inserving sliced produce, such as melon and cantaloupe. In addition, aflange (36) may be placed at the top of the removable insert.

Now that various embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereonwill become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims, and all changes that come within themeaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended tobe embraced therein.

1. A decorative tray for serving chilled produce comprising: (a) aportable housing containing one or more sockets; (b) one or moreremovable inserts adapted to fit the sockets each having a hollowinterior; and (c) a freezable substance disposed within the hollowinterior of each removable insert.
 2. The decorative tray of claim 1,wherein the portable housing is a bowl.
 3. The decorative tray of claim1, wherein the portable housing is a rectangular prism.
 4. Thedecorative tray of claim 1, wherein the removable insert is a cylinder.5. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein the removable insert is acone.
 6. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein the removable insert isa rectangular prism.
 7. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein theremovable insert is a square prism.
 8. The decorative tray of claim 1,wherein the removable insert further comprises a flange.
 9. Thedecorative tray of claim 1, wherein the freezable substance is a gel.10. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein the freezable substance is aliquid.
 11. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein the freezablesubstance is a solid.
 12. The decorative tray of claim 1, wherein theportable housing contains one or more insulated handles.